Lucy of the Sea
by TbhManga
Summary: Lucy is the youngest mermaid of the royal family in the oceanic kingdom of Bosco. She longs to see humans and dreams of meeting a dashing human to fall in love with, but cannot thanks to a powerful curse on her. After escaping from an arranged marriage and meeting a human and a water nymph, she sets out to break the curse and meet her true love. AU
1. Chapter 1

Once upon a time, deep in the ocean, there was a kingdom of mermaids. It was nestled deep in a grove of ocean flora & fauna, so that no human could ever find it, no matter how far they dove down. Nevertheless, rumors of a vast underwater kingdom populated by mermaids spread throughout the human world. They whispered that there were many riches and beautiful mermaids and mermen to be found.

All these rumors were indeed true. The oceanic kingdom of Bosco was a beautiful place, with lavish, over-the-top houses swimming with jewels from shipwrecks and other treasures. Even though the human world and the underwater world did not interact directly, the citizens of Bosco would often take items from shipwrecks. Although it was against the law, some merpeople even caused ships to sink, in order to steal their riches.

Despite it being against the law, the royal family generally turned a blind eye to these deliberate ship sinkings. After all, they would always get first pick of any sunken ship's riches. They were proud, haughty people, who didn't care of the value of human lives. All they cared about were their riches.

Queen Aquarius was the ruler of the kingdom. Her late husband, King Scorpio, had died of poisoning shortly after their youngest daughter had been born. Many whispered that she had killed him; that he was of no use to her anymore, but none could prove it.

She was a vain woman, caring of nothing but her appearances and riches.

5 of her children shared the same vain qualities as the queen. Their names were, in line of birth: Princess Aries, Princess Gem, Prince Mini, Princess Virgo, and Princess Libra. Even Prince Mini, the only boy in the family, cared more about his own selfish desires than the rest of the kingdom.

However, the youngest child, Princess Lucy, was much more in tune with the rest of the kingdom. She didn't cast aside the wishes of her subjects to get a new dress, and was scorned by her family as a result.

However, Princess Lucy was also cursed. Whether it came from disobeying her mother, or angering a witch, or a combination of both, no one knew. All that was known of her was her deadly voice. To merpeople and animals, her voice sounded completely normal. However, to humans, it sounded like the sweetest thing in the world. Then, in turn, that sweetest thing would bring disaster to any humans who heard it.

As a result, Lucy was banned from going to the surface with her mother and siblings. "In order to prevent them from hunting you down," her mother had said, when confronted about the ban. "If they knew of a mermaid who could cause disaster to them, the humans wouldn't rest until you were dead." She would then pat Lucy on the head and go on her merry way, never allowing for more questions.

Lucy despised the ban, and hated her mother for never explaining more about the curse. She always seemed like she knew more than she was telling, and yet Lucy never heard about it.

Because of the ban, Lucy became incredibly skilled at scavenging for human items in shipwrecks. She, like most mermaids, had a fascination with humans. While she couldn't go to the surface because of the curse, no one could stop her from digging through old shipwrecks to find treasures greedy merpeople had missed.

Oftentimes, Lucy would feel another presence with her in the shipwrecks, but a quick glance around wouldn't reveal anyone. Even a thorough search of the area wouldn't reveal anyone. It was nothing more than a slight movement of water around her that convinced Lucy she wasn't alone.

Lucy soon amassed a large amount of human treasure found in her many scavenges, and was able to sell it and make good money. She tried her best to remain independent of the palace, and took pains to avoid it many times. She never cared of the ways of the court and royal family, and she knew they didn't care of her. Therefore, the best option for both was to just stay away.

She was lonely, however. No one would be friends with her, in court or outside it, because of the fact that she was cursed. Never mind the fact that it only affected humans; no merperson wanted anything to do with her either.

And thus, time passed like this for 13 years. Lucy grew more and more lonely with each passing day, and wished that instead of treasure, maybe she could find a friend in a shipwreck.

 **AN 8/8/17: Sorry about the glitch with the codes on every paragraph, that was my fault. Didn't paste the story right in the Doc Manager, but it should be good now.**


	2. Chapter 2

"Where is that ridiculous daughter of mine?" Queen Aquarius shouted. "I haven't seen her in nearly a week! It's time she began to stay in the palace, instead of wandering around shipwrecks like some common scavenger! She's 15, for crying out loud!" She frowned at the palace guards standing nearby. "Well?" she said. "Aren't you going to go find her?"

"O-of course, Queen!" one of them stammered. The other nodded in agreement.

"Then be off!" she shouted.

The two guards nearly tripped over themselves, making a beeline for the door.

The queen sighed and rubbed her eyes. That youngest daughter of hers was sure to give her gray hairs. She would love nothing more than to pass Lucy off onto someone else, so that she could stop worrying about her fascination with humans. As a matter of fact, she had found just the person.

He was a son of one of the nobles. The Canonas were a very high-ranked family in the hierarchy of the palace; almost directly below the royal family themselves. Their son Albert was 2 years older than Lucy, and would make a fine husband for her. Most importantly, the queen wouldn't lose any more beauty sleep over her daughter's foolishness.

* * *

Lucy hummed to herself as she explored the ruined ship. The rotting wood on the hull stated that the name of the ship had been the 'Queen Erina' before it sank. She hadn't seen this wreck before, and clearly no one else had been there in a long time, seeing as barnacles covered almost every surface of the ship. It looked as though it had sat for a hundred years.

Lucy sighed to herself. Apparently the mermaids from 100 years ago were more resourceful with their stolen shipwreck goods than the mermaids now. She couldn't find a single thing of value. It could also be from the barnacles covering, however.

Lucy sighed once again. She leaned on an ancient chair, and looked out the nearby porthole. All that could be seen were the various plants of the ocean floor, waving in the gentle ocean current.

"I wish I could have been a human woman in a fancy dress, going on a wonderful cruise with my beloved," Lucy mumbled to herself. "A wonderful, romantic cruise. My beloved would take me in his arms, and we could watch the sunset from the deck together. We would fall asleep together, and dream about each other. It would be a happy life, not one caught up in hiding from court politics." She sighed, bitterly. It was fun to pretend that the scene out the porthole was a beautiful azure sky reflecting off ocean waves, rather than an ocean floor, but in the end it was all just fantasy.

Suddenly, a warm jet of water shot past her. Lucy snapped out of her daydreams quickly, and looked around for someone. "Hello?" she called. Silence. Pulling herself out of the chair, she went towards the front of the ship, where the jet of water seemingly had been headed.

"Is anyone there?" Lucy called again. Still silence. She crossed her arms. "Honestly, I know someone's here, so you might as well reveal yourself. Otherwise I might have to do something drastic!" she proclaimed.

A soft giggle could be heard. "Your voice can't kill me. I'm not human," came a teasing voice, from outside a porthole behind Lucy.

Lucy whirled around, looking for the owner of the voice. She saw no sign of any living animal, fish, or merperson. "Who's there?" she asked. "And how do you know of my voice?"

From another porthole, the lilting voice said, "Why, everyone under the sea knows of the cursed princess, dearie. And I've been around too many years to not know of the royal family's tricks."

Lucy spun towards the other porthole, but there was still nothing. "How are you doing that?" she asked.

"Doing what?" the soft voice came, from the exact porthole Lucy was staring at.

"That! Being invisible!"

"Comes with the job, dearie."

"What job?"

"A victim of the tricks of the royal family wouldn't know," the voice teased. "Speaking of royal tricks, here comes yet another one now."

"Huh?" Lucy said, before hearing the faintest sound of two mermen talking. "Oh no, they sound like my mother's guards. What do they want?"

"Darling, you're in for a ride, so I'll give you one tip. When you no longer want to be a trick, come to this ship. I'll be waiting!" the voice said sing-songily, drifting away.

"Wait!" Lucy cried, swimming towards the porthole. "I don't want to deal with my mom! Take me with you!"

But the voice was already gone.

"Princess Lucy!" shouted the two guards, noticing her within the shipwreck. "Your mother requires your presence!"

"Bite me," Lucy muttered quietly, before adopting a falsely cheery expression & tone. "Sure, be right out!" she called out to them.

Grabbing her scavenging bag, which was unusually light this time due to the lack of salvageable things, Lucy exited the Queen Erina and swam towards where the guards were. They offered her their arms, and she took them, letting them swim her the long way back towards the palace. She kept her eyes on the ocean floor, to keep the risk of making eye contact with the guards.

Once they were back in the main city of Bosco, where the palace was located, Lucy let her eyes wander to the different sights of the city. She saw a few mermaids flirting with mermen, and she wished she could be as carefree as that. Her heart ached for a life she knew she'd never have.

* * *

Soon enough, she was back inside the palace for the first time in a while. The guards left Lucy near her chambers, where servants were waiting to scrub every inch of her from head to tail. Her mother wouldn't approve of a single speck of dirt being on her child.

Lucy said nothing as the servants chattered around her, cleaning her body, her hair, and her tail, until they all sparkled. She faintly wondered what all the fanfare was about at first, but as the servants began to turn her hair into a more and more elaborate hairstyle, dread began to grow in her heart. She would likely have to go to a ball with some dimwitted noble's son and act like a dimwitted princess who wanted nothing more than to please him for hours. Or worse, her mother would try and make Lucy spend time with her, shopping for overly extravagant outfits that would no doubt deplete the royal treasury had the citizens not been so overly taxed. Worst case scenario, her mother would marry her off to some slimy prince to get her out of her hair. Either way, there was no way she was summoned here for a good reason.

The servants finished up far too soon, and Lucy was left alone for a few minutes. She stared at herself in the mirror, but Lucy knew the reflection wasn't her true self. She looked stunning in royal silk and pearls, but she was happier wearing a plain bra & nothing on her tail while her loose hair streamed behind her in the water.

Her escort arrived far too soon, and Lucy was swallowing back insults as she walked into the gaudy throne room. Her mother and siblings were all present, wearing outfits that were even more gaudy than the throne room itself, which was a real accomplishment.

"Lucy, my daughter who I've missed so much! What a wonderful day it is for us, today!" the Queen cried.

Lucy suppressed the urge to roll her eyes at the utter lie. She knew the queen hated her just as much as Lucy hated her. She swallowed back more insults and pasted on the fakest smile she'd ever made. "Hello, mother, what a pleasure to see you again." The utter lie made Lucy want to laugh.

"Ah, the pleasure is mine!" Queen Aquarius proclaimed. "However, we may not be able to enjoy each other's company for much longer. You have someone much more important to please."

Lucy almost frowned, but caught herself in time. The queen, saying someone was more important than her? Impossible. Unless...

"Lucy, my sweet, I've found you a suitor!" Queen Aquarius exclaimed, dabbing her handkerchief against her eyes. "Imagine, my youngest, getting married!"

Her fake smile long gone, Lucy felt the sudden urge to lean over and vomit all over the gaudy carpet. Worst case scenario, indeed. She couldn't even keep the outrage from keeping into her voice as she said, "Excuse me?"

"Yes! I arranged it all today! The wedding is to be within a month! You will make a wonderful bride, my daughter. Both you and your husband are stunning. You will bring me the most beautiful grandchildren," the queen said.

Lucy was really making an attempt to not lose her temper, but the grandchildren remark set her over the edge. She opened her mouth to spew every insult she had thought since entering the castle, but her mother cut Lucy off, "And if you don't go along with this wedding, well, then you'll just have to suffer in prison for breaking the Queen's laws. For the rest of your life, although I suspect a pretty little thing like you won't last long there."

Lucy was seething with fury. She was imagining nothing more than the Queen's long fingernails gaining a mind of their own & gouging out her own eyes, but she forced herself to say, "How wonderful. Who is my husband to be?"

"Ah, I thought you'd never ask!" The queen beckoned for someone to step forward. He came into the light, and Lucy saw a boy of about 17, with dark brown hair and eyes. His face seemed almost feminine, with a slender figure as well.

"This is Albert, son of the house of Canona. One of Bosco's finest and oldest noble families! I truly look forward to this union of my own royal line and the House of Canona!" the Queen proclaimed.

Lucy was feeling sicker and sicker by the moment. Just this morning, she had been happily daydreaming through shipwrecks, talking to invisible people in the water, and now this? Why had she ever gone with those guards, and not hidden?


	3. Chapter 3

Lucy stumbled away to her room, blinking back furious tears. She couldn't believe her mother. Marrying her off, at 15 no less? On second thought, her mother DID hate her. And wanted her gone.

She reached her room, slamming the door behind her as she entered. Lucy ran towards her bed and collapsed onto it, letting the tears flow. She still couldn't believe it. Her mother really was a selfish, vain mermaid. Lucy had known that for years, but this took it to a whole other level.

Staring up at the ceiling, letting her tears dissolve into the water around her, she whispered to herself, "If only I had been born a human, away from this cursed ocean."

A knock at the door then shattered Lucy's solitude. Sniffling, she shouted, "Who is it?"

An awkward silence ensued for a couple seconds, before a voice came from the other side. "Uh, your betrothed, I guess... I couldn't find you, and you seem like the type that would run away after you were completely embarrassed. So I guessed you would be here, and I was right."

Lucy felt blood rush to her cheeks. "And what do you want?" she snapped. As soon as it was out, she winced at her own tone. She didn't mean to sound so snippy, and this poor guy was probably forced into the engagement as well.

"To comfort you. I mean, if we're supposed to be married, you should be happy." Albert's voice came. He sounded almost regretful. "I'm sorry about this. I really am. I had no part of this, it was all our parents."

Lucy sighed. "What I should be and what I actually am are two completely different things," she said. Nevertheless, she pulled herself off the bed and opened the door for him.

In person, he seemed even more feminine than before. His brown hair may have been cut short, but there was no mistaking the rounded face, soft lips, and long eyelashes.

Lucy crossed her arms and leaned on the door frame. "You look like a girl," she accused.

Color flared slightly in Albert's cheeks, but he simply shrugged. "I get that a lot. Too many genes from my mom, I guess."

Lucy raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything else on the subject.

Albert continued, "So, like I said earlier, I had no part in this. Please don't resent me in this. We both know our... less than desirable parents are behind this. Your mother and my father are both terrible merpeople."

Lucy snorted. "You got that right." She then realized that both of them were still standing in the doorway. "Um, do you want to come in and sit down?" she asked.

"Oh, sure." Albert walked in the room, and Lucy shut the door behind him. They both sat on the bed together.

"So," Albert said. "How can we find a way to break up this engagement?"

Lucy looked at him, shocked. "You honestly think there's a way to convince our parents to break this up?" she squeaked.

"Not really. If my mother was here, definitely, but..." his voice trailed off. "Actually, if she were here, this engagement wouldn't even be a thing."

"Your mom, huh? I remember her. She did seem like a nice person," Lucy said. "A rare commodity in this twisted palace."

Albert grimanced. "And that's why she's gone. Palace life changes you. My mother wanted no part of that, and that's why she... did what she did."

Lucy flinched. "I'm so sorry," she said, quietly.

Albert sighed. "It's fine, I've gotten over it by now. It makes me respect her, though. To the court, she's just a mad woman who had an affair with Sir Gildarts, who then married her out of pity. But personally, she's a woman who made a mistake, and rather than let herself get twisted and cold, she made up for it. Lady Cornelia Alberona is a hero, in my heart. I just wish she hadn't left me behind, to deal with... everything."

Lucy smirked. "So your name was Albert Alberona before your mom married? That's a mouthful."

Albert laughed. "Yeah, I guess it is. I've never thought of it that way, though."

Lucy thought she imagined it, but there seemed to be a nervous undertone in that laugh. There was something Albert wasn't telling her about himself. She quickly changed the subject. "So, back to breaking up our wonderful engagement. Why are you so interested in this as well? Are you a firm believer in true love or a staunch opponent of the political games of the court?" Lucy asked.

"Can both be an answer?" Albert said, grinning.

Lucy laughed. "Looks like we've got two things in common."

Albert laughed as well, but then grew serious. "Actually, I have another reason to break up this engagement."

Lucy raised an eyebrow, but let him continue.

"You see, there's a girl I've sort of fallen in love with," Albert said, blushing.

Lucy smirked. "Sort of?"

Albert sighed. "No, not exactly sort of. I should say I've fallen head over heels for this girl. That would be a lot more truthful."

"And does she love you back?" Lucy pressed.

"Yeah, if things weren't the way they are, we could potentially be married," Albert said, blushing.

"Aww, congrats," Lucy said. "Although, I guess I'm sort of a homewrecker in that sense..."

"No, not at all!" Albert said. "There's no way we'd ever be able to get married with our... situations."

"Situations?"

"Yeah, well, obviously I'm the noble heir of the house of Canona."

"And?"

"She's a... servant of our house."

"You're kidding."

"Not one bit."

"That's rough, buddy."

Albert sighed. "I know. I wish there was something I could do, but this engagement has thrown off everything. Lucy, I know you're a wonderful person. You're nothing like your corrupt family; I've gotten that impression from you in only about a 10 minute conversation. But, she's still the first person who truly loved me, and I truly love her back. As a result, we need to find a way to break this engagement up."

Lucy grinned. "No problem. You seem like an incredibly nice person too, but I'm not about to break up a happy relationship for politics. Just one question."

"Hm?" Albert said.

"What's the lucky lady's name?" Lucy asked.

"I thought you'd never ask!" Albert said, beaming. "Her name is Lisanna. Lisanna Strauss. She and her siblings are all servants in our house, and my mother was very close with theirs."

"Well, she's lucky to have a wonderful man like you as her significant other," Lucy said, smiling.

"Oh, uh, about that..." Albert's voice trailed off.

"About what?" Lucy asked, suspiciously.

"That part... where you said... man..." Albert mumbled. "I'm not exactly... a man."

Lucy stared at him. "So that's why you look like a girl."

"Yeah, my actual name is Cana Alberona. I managed to switch the names and become 'Albert Canona' when my mother got married, and she was the only person who knew I was actually a girl for the longest time. It was her idea, in fact. She didn't want me, a girl, being seen as nothing as we usually are in this hellish court." Cana said, smiling. "Lisanna knows all this, too. She's cool with it. And, that's also part of the reason we can't be together, you know? Two girls can't get married, so I had to be Albert Canona. But then, a heir to a noble family can't marry a servant, so we're screwed either way."

Lucy nodded. "Sounds like you two need to just elope. Hide out in a cave for a while, let your hair grow out and make yourself look like a girl, and then just move somewhere where no one will bother you and Lisanna. Claim to be roommates until people accept that two girls can love each other, and then announce your love to the world."

Cana stared at Lucy, shocked. "You really think that could happen?"

"Who knows? I'm sure crazier things have happened," Lucy said. "Nothing's impossible!"

Cana grinned. She pulled Lucy into a huge hug. "Thank you, thank you!" she squealed. "But, when am I supposed to go? How do I tell Lisanna about everything that's happened here, and ask her to leave everything behind? How do I-"

"You'll figure it out along the way, I'm sure," Lucy said. "And as for leaving, go now. Everyone is at the huge engagement party. If you and Lisanna leave tonight, there's no way they'll start looking until at least tomorrow." She smiled. "Actually, they probably won't even bother looking for you. They'll be more worried about the missing princess, kidnapped for ransom."

"What?" Cana asked.

Lucy smirked at her, before crossing the room to grab some of her human art supplies, taken from various shipwrecks. As Cana watched, Lucy created an incredibly fake, but very believable ransom letter from a group of rebel mermaids, demanding that the queen step down or her daughter would come to harm.

"You're a genius, Lucy," Cana said, as Lucy put the finishing touches on the letter. "But where will you go? The queen's guards are very good, they'll find you."

Lucy placed the letter on her bed, and rumpled the covers a bit. She threw all the human art supplies, along with a couple other artifacts, inside a small bag. "I'm no longer going to be a trick," she said, calmly. "I've got a friend who can help me with that."

Cana had no idea what she was talking about. She shrugged it off, seeing that Lucy was just as determined as her to get away from palace life forever. Together, the two of them exited Lucy's bedroom, knowing full well it would be the last time they would ever be in the palace.

They walked together for a while through the palace, casually ducking guards, servants, and the occasional drunk party-goer who had lost their way. Soon, the two came to one of the palace's secret exits together. They embraced, and the moment they were outside, they went their separate ways.

Lucy headed back towards the shipwreck with her invisible, watery friend, and Cana headed to the Canona's mansion to tell Lisanna the news, and then elope. Neither of them knew what fate had in store for them.


	4. Chapter 4

Skimming over the ocean floor, bag full of human treasures over her shoulder, Lucy's mind began to wander. She wondered who the mysterious, invisible person in the shipwreck of the Queen Erina was. She wondered if Cana had safely escaped the capital city yet with Lisanna. She wondered if she would ever find love in her life.

Just then, the shipwreck appeared. Lucy sighed in relief. It had been too many hours since she had last slept and she was exhausted. She needed a long break from traveling.

She swam towards the shipwreck, and entered through the same porthole she had gone through before. There, she spotted the same chair she had sat on, dreaming of going on a cruise with her true love. It seemed like ages ago, and yet it hadn't even been 24 hours. The whole engagement business had truly changed Lucy.

Sighing, she settled down on the chair, letting her bag fall to the ground. Her head hit the back of the chair, and Lucy fell asleep almost instantly, with no thoughts of the palace or snooty nobles for the first time in years.

Unknown to her, a swirling vortex of water had surrounded the Queen Erina, directed by a wild-haired water nymph. The nymph simply had to raise a finger, and the swirling vortex pulled the wreck out of the ocean floor, despite it having rested there for a century. Under her direction, the vortex carefully followed the nymph even farther away from the capital city and palace. The nymph's destination was obvious: her home, inaccessible to anyone but her. And she intended to keep her promise to Lucy; to help her when she no longer wanted to be a helpless pawn of the palace.

* * *

Lucy dreamed that she was a human who had been swept off her feet by a handsome prince. He promised to cherish her all his life, and just as they were leaning in for a kiss, Queen Aquarius appeared. Lucy screamed, and the Queen began to shout at her for breaking off her engagement. Lucy covered her ears and curled into a ball, trying to avoid the words, but they got through anyway. Until the queen suddenly stopped speaking. Lucy looked up, surprised, to see a sword sticking out of her mother's chest. Her prince held the hilt of the sword, determination to protect Lucy in his face, and the queen hissed at him furiously. However, she couldn't do anything to stop the bleeding, and eventually collapsed to the ground. The prince then turned to Lucy, asking if she was okay. Shocked, she could only nod. The prince then walked over to her, scooped her up in his arms, and kissed her deeply. Lucy kissed him back, and it felt like it was only the two of them in the whole world.

* * *

Meanwhile, the nymph had arrived at her home, shipwreck in tow, in a bay near humans. Mermaids avoided areas of high human population, in fears of being caught, but the nymph didn't mind. She was careful, and she would teach Lucy to be careful as well. Besides, she even had a human friend. Another loner, like her, but one who had company in the form of a library. The water nymph was completely alone in the water. At least, until Lucy came along.

"Juvia is no longer alone," the water nymph whispered to herself, as she gently made the whirlpool set down the Queen Erina shipwreck on the bay floor, careful not to wake Lucy up.

Making sure that everything was secure, Juvia then rose to the surface, staring at the moon in the sky for a few moments before heading inland in a river. She let herself become part of the current, and drifted along until she was deposited in a serene lake. She rose out of the water, and looked around.

Juvia's eyes landed on a cottage with a light in the front window, and she smiled. She drifted towards the cottage, slowly reforming from the water.

As she was about to go from the water to dry land, a loud hiss broke the silence. Juvia jumped back, and a huge cat pounced on where she had been just moments before.

"What?" Juvia managed, before the cat turned to her. It hissed again, and she dissolved into water, falling back into the lake.

The cat hissed once more, but didn't come into the water. It sat down by the shore, though, and stared at where Juvia had been.

"Stupid cat," Juvia muttered. "I didn't know she was taking in strays." Although, on closer observation, this cat looked well-cared for. Was someone with a cat visiting her friend?

Almost as if on cue, Juvia heard her voice come from the cottage. "Juvia? Is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me! What's with the cat?" Juvia yelled back.

Her friend came running out of the cottage the moment she heard Juvia's voice. Juvia reformed, and stepped onto land, carefully avoiding the cat. Her friend threw her arms around her, squealing, "I missed you! It's been nearly a month since I saw you! Oh, the cat. I'm watching him while a... friend is out of town."

"You have a friend? You, Levy McGarden, have a friend? No, Juvia doesn't believe it!" Juvia proclaimed, laughing. "Besides, what was that suspicious pause there? Could this possibly be... a crush of Levy's?"

Levy turned beet red. "No! Well, not completely..."

"Aha! So you do like the owner of this cat!" Juvia said, triumphantly.

Levy was still blushing furiously. "Fine. You're right. I do have a crush on him. He's just so strong and... and handsome... and- Why are you here, anyway, Juvia?" she asked suddenly, attempting to change the subject.

"No changing the subject until I get his name," Juvia said.

Levy sighed. "Fine. Gajeel Redfox. Happy?"

Juvia smirked. "Sure. Anyway, I'm here because I also have another friend now."

It was Levy's turn to laugh now. "What man did you find under the sea, or did you drag him there?"

Juvia pouted. "SHE is a mermaid, although a siren would be a better description."

"She?" Levy asked. "Wow, Juvia, I didn't know you swung both ways."

Juvia turned red then. She sputtered, "No! You know who I want to marry someday."

"Are you sure about that?" Levy teased. "Your siren friend could most definitely be some competition for your prince. Bewitching him with her voice and all that."

"First of all, there's two princes. If she wants to fall in love with Prince Natsu, she can be my guest. Not Prince Gray, though. He's too young for her anyway. He's much closer to my age!" Juvia said.

"And, how old exactly is your siren friend?" Levy asked, knowing where this was going.

"Fifteen, almost sixteen. Meanwhile, Prince Gray is fourteen, which is what I am as well. Therefore, we are better suited for each other," Juvia stated.

Levy just smiled. "You've never even met him, Juvia. You don't even know what he's like."

"Well, he seems nice!" she huffed.

Levy smirked. "Sure, whatever you say." Her face then grew serious. "So, your friend is a siren, huh? It probably wouldn't be in my best interest to meet her, then. Unless she's capable of controlling her voice, so it isn't deadly?" She looked at Juvia, hoping for an answer.

In response, Juvia stared out at the lake. It was a while before she actually responded. "She can't control it," Juvia said. "It kills her inside, too. Lucy wants nothing more than to go to the surface, but can't, because of her voice."

"Have you tried coaching her with magic at all?" Levy asked.

"We've... never actually met," Juvia admitted. "I just followed her around in shipwrecks, when she was always mumbling to herself. Lucy looked lonely, like me, and I always wanted to say something, but I was always too shy, until yesterday."

Levy just stared at her. "Juvia, I knew you were a stalker, but not at this level." She sighed. "Oh well. She must have been running away from something bad if she agreed to leave her home and come here with you."

Juvia stared at the lake again, saying nothing.

Levy gasped. "She didn't agree? Juvia, that's kidnapping! What the hell?"

"She wanted to get away from the palace, and said she would go with me! I just didn't exactly tell her how or where..." Juvia mumbled.

Levy had her face in her hands. "I can't believe we're friends. How did I ever become friends with a stalker and kidnapper?"

"If I remember correctly, I saved you from drowning in this very lake from your abusive parents," Juvia said.

Levy got up, and shoved Juvia towards the water. "Go talk to her!" she shouted. "She's probably all freaked out, getting dragged somewhere she doesn't know. She might accidentally kill someone with her voice! Go!"

Juvia opened her mouth, decided there were better things to do than argue, and subsequently closed it. She dissolved back into the water, and went back down the river into the bay.

Levy sighed, staring out at the lake. "I can't believe her sometimes," she mumbled.


	5. Chapter 5

Lucy yawned. The morning sun's light was streaming through the ship's porthole. She may have gotten a good night's rest, but she was still having trouble keeping her eyes open. She still felt completely exhausted from the previous night.

After a while of attempting to go back to sleep, but not quite falling asleep, Lucy decided to call it quits and get up. Opening her eyes, she yawned again.

The first thing she saw was a mess of blue hair floating in front of her. Just hair. Nothing attached to it.

"Wha-" Lucy said, blearily. She rubbed her eyes, making sure she wasn't hallucinating.

"Oh, hello!" came a voice. The same voice that Lucy had heard in the ship the previous day.

"You-you're the voice!" Lucy blurted out. "The one in the ship!"

"Yes, I am! Don't I look stunning in person?" the voice laughed.

Lucy frowned. "All I see is blue hair. Where exactly is the rest of you? Unless you're literally just a mess of blue hair."

"Oh! Sorry about that!" the voice gasped. Water suddenly swirled around the blue hair, and in a few moment, there was a girl with blue hair floating there. "I forget to fully reform sometimes. It's a bad habit of mine, but I don't usually have guests, so it usually goes uncorrected."

Lucy stared at her. "Magic?" she finally asked.

"No, not magic. I'm a water nymph. You know, controller of water and all that? I can turn myself into water at will. That's how I was invisible to you for all those years," the water nymph said, smiling. She sat herself down on the rotting floor of the boat, close to Lucy's chair.

"Wait, years? What do you mean, YEARS?" Lucy asked. "You've been stalking me?"

"Uh," the water nymph replied, nervously. "I get lonely. And you looked lonely, a lot, so..." Her voice trailed off.

Lucy sighed. "I know I should be angry, but I do know how it feels to be lonely. Just, no more secretly following me around while you're invisible. If you want me to hang out with you, then be visible, please."

"Will do!" the water nymph said, brightly.

"By the way, what's your name?" Lucy asked. "You never gave it."

"I'm Juvia."

"Alright, Juvia. I'm Lucy. You clearly know I'm one of the princesses of Bosco, and that my mother is an absolute nutcase-"

"And your engagement and so on and so on," Juvia interrupted. "She's having an absolute fit right now."

"What?" Lucy said.

"Your mother. She's having a fit that you and 'Albert' are gone." Juvia said. She twisted her hands, and the water around her formed into a ball. Inside of it, the palace could be seen, with Queen Aquarius shrieking at the top of her lungs at the guards and the Canona family.

"How did you do that?" Lucy asked. She peered into the ball.

"I'm a water nymph. I see everything that happens in this ocean," Juvia said, shrugging. "It's a curse and a blessing, I guess."

"That's so cool! But, it also goes along with the whole stalker thing. Don't do it again." Lucy said.

Juvia nodded. She twisted her hands again, and the image of Queen Aquarius shrieking inside the ball swirled back into the water.

Lucy then cleared her throat. "So, uh, where exactly are we?" She pointed out the porthole. "I know this isn't the same landscape that I saw falling asleep. I don't know how, but somehow you moved the ship while I was sleeping."

Juvia opened her mouth to explain, but Lucy cut her off. "And, once again, that's such a stalker-ish thing to do. Not to be rude, but do you even have any friends?"

"One," Juvia shrugged.

"One?" Lucy said. "You mean, you only have one friend?"

"Who are you to talk?" Juvia shot back.

This time it was Lucy's turn to not have a comeback. She sighed, defeated. "Ok. Question still stands. Where exactly are we?"

"Just outside of Harugeon Bay," Juvia said.

"Harugeon Bay?" Lucy asked.

"You've never heard of it?"

"No, I've sort of lived out in the middle of the ocean for all my life."

"Well, Harugeon Bay is a huge trading place for humans. They have many ships sailing to and from here all the time."

"Humans? You mean, you brought me to a place where there's a lot of humans?!" Lucy shrieked.

"Yeah..." Juvia's voice trailed off.

"Juvia! Do you know what a terrible idea that was? I could kill someone! All I have to do is say one word and any human who hears it will suffer disasters!" Lucy shrieked again.

"Then stick with me if we ever go to the surface," Juvia said. "I'll put a water bubble around your head so that no one can hear you."

Lucy scoffed. "That's really not the best solution-"

"So you'd rather go back to the middle of the ocean where your mother can easily find you?" Juvia cut her off. "Lucy, no mermaid is going to come close to this bay. They avoid humans like the plague, and this bay is full of humans. So long as you don't say a word above water, you're all good."

Lucy thought for a moment, and then sighed. "I guess you're right," she said finally. She leaned back in the chair. Lucy began to play with her hair, and an awkward silence ensured.

After a while of just floating in the water, awkwardly avoiding eye contact, Juvia finally asked, "So, do you want to do something? You know, instead of just hanging around this boring old ship?"

Lucy shrugged. "Maybe, I mean, what exactly do you do around here?"

"Usually I go to the surface to visit my friend Levy..." Juvia said. "But I guess you... can't..."

"By visit do you mean stalk?" Lucy asked, smirking.

"No! We're actually friends!" Juvia said, angrily.

"Surree," Lucy said, drawing out her voice.

"We are!" Juvia insisted. "You know what, follow me! I'm going to go prove it to you!" She dissolved into the water, and rose up.

"Hey, wait! I can't talk to humans!" Lucy yelled, swimming after her. "Wait up! I can't swim that fast!"

 **AN: Thanks to school starting for both myself and my beta reader, updates will probably become a lot slower. About once every 2 weeks is more realistic.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Note: My beta reader wouldn't answer her goddamn phone to check the chapter, but I've read it over several times and it seems good. In other news, I'm looking for a new beta reader. Please PM me if interested.**

* * *

Lucy followed Juvia as she was swept along by the current. She had no idea where they were going, but trusted Juvia enough to know that they wouldn't get lost.

The current swept the two out of the bay, and into a river. They followed the quick-moving river for a while, before the current slowed down and the two were deposited into a lake.

"This is Lake Magnolia, otherwise known as Lake of the Fairies," Juvia called back to Lucy.

"Why? Are there fairies here?" Lucy shouted back.

"Supposedly. I've never seen one, and neither has Levy." Juvia answered. She began to reform in the water, and grabbed Lucy's arm. "Now, remember. No talking. I don't want anything happening to Levy."

Lucy sighed. "I got it."

"I mean it," Juvia said. "She's my only friend." She was almost fully reformed now. "In fact, how about I do _this_ so nothing accidentally happens." She swirled her hands around, and a bubble of water formed around Lucy's head.

Lucy glared at her. "Is this really needed?" she asked. However, her voice didn't break through the bubble.

"I didn't hear you! It worked!" Juvia shrieked.

Lucy just sighed. At least she was going to the surface, finally.

Juvia began to swim upwards, and closer to the shore. Lucy followed, wondering what Levy was like. She was probably nicer than all those stuck-up court merpeople. Although, that really didn't take much effort to do. She wondered what Levy looked like, and if she had a boyfriend.

"Here we are!" Juvia announced, breaking Lucy out of her thoughts. She swam upward, and broke through the surface.

Taking a deep breath, Lucy followed her. She broke through the surface of the water as well, and had to squint her eyes. It was too bright up above.

Juvia, noticing her squinting, said, "You get used to it after a while."

Lucy nodded, but started looking around. She saw green trees, green fields, blue sky, mountains in the distance, birds in the sky, and a red house near the shore. "There's so much," she said, softly. "And it's all beautiful."

"Lucy, darling, I have no idea what you're saying. I sure hope you're not insulting me, though," Juvia said. "Also, be careful. That stupid cat isn't in front of Levy's house anymore, but it still could be around. If it attacks, I can easily turn into water to avoid the attack, but you can't."

"Cat?" Lucy asked. "What's a cat?"

Juvia couldn't hear her, though, and ignored her as a result. She suddenly shouted, "HEY! LEVY!"

A few moments passed before the door of the red house flew open. A short girl with blue hair came rushing out, holding a pair of glasses and a book.

"Pipe down, Juvia!" she said. "Someone might hear you!"

"Who's someone? Levy, you live at least 20 miles from any form of civilization," Juvia shot back.

She grinned. "Fair point." Her eyes then noticed Lucy, with her water bubble around her head. "Juvia, what-"

"That's Lucy!" Juvia said, brightly. "She's the siren I told you about. That's why she has the water bubble around her head. So she doesn't murder you by saying hello."

Lucy, not knowing what else to do, waved.

Levy raised an eyebrow. "You sure do things in unorthodox ways, Juvia." She then smiled. "But it's nice to meet you, Lucy."

Lucy said, "You too," but it was once again lost in the water bubble. She sighed and rolled her eyes at the same time.

Levy noticed her lips move, and then the eye roll. "You just said something, didn't you?" she asked.

Lucy nodded.

Levy frowned. "If only there was another way to communicate..." she mumbled to herself.

"Writing!" Juvia burst out. "Lucy, do you know how to write?"

Lucy looked at Juvia like she was an idiot. "Of course!" she yelled. She then realized once again that no one could hear her, and nodded in frustration.

"No, not writing," Levy said. "Paper is expensive. And also doesn't exactly work well with water."

"Says the person who has a library of books right next to a lake," Juvia shot back.

"I'm trying to think! Let me concentrate!" Levy said. She leaned back against the door, frowning in concentration.

Juvia and Lucy looked at each other and shrugged.

Levy then snapped her fingers. "I got it!" she said, brightly. "Wait here for a second!" She ran inside quickly.

"I have no idea what she's about to do," Juvia said to Lucy.

Lucy shrugged again. She had very little idea of what was going on, and was just making an attempt to look around at the sights of the surface world. It was just as pretty as she'd imagined it. Too bad she couldn't just become a human and live here.

Levy came racing out the door, holding a thick book. She ran to the shore, and slammed it on the ground in front of Juvia and Lucy. The cover read, "Sign Language for Beginners."

"Genius, right?" Levy said. "Then we don't have to deal with paper getting wet and all that."

Lucy swam closer to the shore to inspect the book more closely, and Juvia followed.

"Levy, that-that's a really good idea," Juvia said, sounding shocked. She turned to Lucy. "Lucy, are you-"

Lucy had opened the book already, and was making an attempt to make the correct hand gestures. Levy sat on the ground next to the shore, and the two began to attempt the gestures together.

After a few moments, Juvia decided to join them as well. "Scoot over," she said to Lucy. The three of them huddled together on the lake shore, laughing and attempting to all communicate together.

* * *

The setting sun had begun to cast its colors over the lake. Juvia was the first to notice, and nudged Lucy. "We should probably start heading back," she said.

Lucy frowned, and signed, 'Stay here.'

"Well, I guess we could, but..." Juvia's voice trailed off, as all of a sudden, a carriage could be heard in the distance.

"Go!" Levy blurted out. "Otherwise someone will see you!"

Lucy jumped quickly back into the water, and Juvia dissolved, but quickly reformed again back underwater. Lucy began to swim towards the bottom of the lake, but Juvia pushed her back towards the surface, in a hidden area, full of reeds, cattails, and lily pads. Juvia whispered, "We can watch from in here."

Lucy nodded, and stuck her head above the water. Juvia created a small wall of opaque water in front of them, so no one could see them.

The carriage they had heard then came into view. It was made of all iron, and was messily painted black.

"Tacky," Juvia whispered. Lucy nodded in agreement.

The carriage stopped in front of Levy's house, and a man stepped out. He looked at least a foot and a half taller than Levy, and definitely older.

Levy opened the door and ran out to him. "Gajeel!" she yelled. "You're back!"

"Course I am! You didn't expect those people to actually hire me, right? Me, the person who looks like a street thug?" Gajeel laughed.

Levy grinned. "I'd hire you," she said.

"That's because you're - you," Gajeel said. "No one else thinks that way."

Juvia whispered to Lucy, "Looks like this is Levy's crush."

Lucy signed back, 'Both ways.'

Juvia snorted. "You're probably right."

Gajeel and Levy had continued their conversation in the meantime, and Gajeel was now asking about his cat. Levy went back in the house for a moment, and came back carrying a huge cat. The cat jumped out of Levy's arms, and settled onto Gajeel's shoulders. Levy and Gajeel both laughed. After a little while longer of talking, Gajeel awkwardly hugged Levy, and then left again in his carriage. Levy was left on the doorstep of her house, blushing furiously.

Juvia and Lucy watched the whole exchange, snickering to each other softly. After Gajeel left, Juvia pulled Lucy back into the water, and said, "It's late. We should head back." She then removed the bubble from around Lucy, allowing her to speak again.

"Yeah, it is pretty late," Lucy said. She glanced up at the surface to see the moon and thousands of twinkling stars. "He really stayed a while."

"She really likes him," Juvia said, rolling her eyes. "Can't imagine why." She began to dissolve into the water, preparing for the journey down the river.

"Love is a strange thing," Lucy said, thinking of Cana and Lisanna. "Haven't you ever been in love?"

"…No." Juvia hesitated. "Well, maybe. Does a crush on someone who doesn't know I exist count?"

Lucy stared at her. "Please tell me you don't stalk him, too."

"Not to the level I stalked you," she replied.

"Wow, that's real comforting," Lucy muttered. She raised her voice, "So what's his name?"

"Uh, Gray. He's… kind of the prince of the kingdom that owns Harugeon Bay and Lake Magnolia and all that. The Kingdom of Fiore." Juvia was blushing furiously by the end.

Lucy sighed. "So, you fell for a prince. Go big or go home, I guess."

"He seems like such a good person, though!" Juvia exclaimed.

"Yeah, so does about 99% of the royal court of Bosco, but how nice are they in reality?" Lucy retorted.

"Not every member of royalty is like Bosco's royal family," Juvia shot back. "Look at you!"

"I am a member of Bosco's royal family, Juvia. I don't act like them, but I'm still-"

Juvia just snorted. "Whatever. You act and look nothing like them. That's awfully fishy to me, but whatever you say!" And with that, she dissolved into the water and shot down the river.

"Hey, wait!" Lucy yelled, swimming after her once again. This time, however, she couldn't keep up. The river's current tossed her around, and her head hit a rock. The last thing Lucy remembered seeing before blacking out was a faint flash of pink.


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: Sorry about the wait, had tons of schoolwork & a bit of writer's block, it should be back to regular updates after this chapter.**

* * *

Lucy awoke to the sound of waves crashing on rocks and something licking her face. Her eyes shot open, and the first thing she saw was a mess of blue fur. She shrieked, and a hiss came from the blue fur. It jumped off her, and she saw a solid blue sky, nothing like the sunset in the sky she had seen after leaving Levy's. She must have been out for hours!

"So you're awake now," came a masculine voice from behind her. "I was worried you weren't ever going to wake up. You must have been out for a solid 16 hours. Plus, you were bleeding pretty badly on your head. Did you hit it on some rocks or something in the water?"

Lucy struggled to turn around, and almost instantly felt awful. A human had saved her. A human with bright pink hair, who was now holding the mess of blue fur. A cat, she thought. But how on earth was the cat blue? She was dying to start asking the human all her questions, and answer his, but she didn't feel like murdering an innocent human today. Lucy felt tears well up in her eyes. She hated this curse.

The human stared at her. "Are... you ok?" he asked. "Wait, can you even speak English?"

Lucy nodded. She figured he didn't know sign language, so why bother? She was an amateur at it anyway.

"Uh, ok, you can speak English. Wait, can you NOT speak? I forget the word for it..." the human asked again.

Lucy nodded again.

"Oh man. That sucks," the human said.

A faint smile dawned on Lucy's lips, and she nodded again.

"Geez, and I thought I was going to be able to talk to a real-life mermaid. Learn about the ocean and all that." The human stroked his cat. "Guess I can't do that though, right, Happy?"

The cat purred. Lucy frowned, and noticed a stick nearby. She pulled herself across the sand in an attempt to reach it.

"Hey, where are you going?" called the human.

Lucy reached for the stick, grabbed it, and turned back towards him. She wrote, 'Siren' in the sand, and pointed to herself.

The man squinted at what she had written. "Siren?" he asked, staring at her. "Wait, you mean the things that sing and lure people in to their deaths? You're one of those?"

Lucy nodded, staring at the ground.

The man whistled. "I guess that's why you're not talking to me, huh?"

Lucy's eyes traveled off the ground and onto the man again. She nodded once more.

He grinned. "You seem nice, anyway. Not the kind of person who'd kill people for fun, I guess."

Lucy grabbed the stick again and wrote, "Cursed," in the sand.

"Oh, so you're cursed with a voice that kills people. That sucks," the man said. "You probably have a really pretty voice, too. I mean, you're already pretty in general, but..." His voice trailed off.

Lucy started blushing. Here she was, sitting on the sand while a strange human talked to her and called her pretty. She never would have dreamed of this in her wildest dreams.

"So, uh, I never asked your name," the man said finally. "I'm Natsu, and you're?"

She wrote in the sand, "Lucy."

"Lucy, huh? That's a pretty name, too." Natsu said. The cat purred in his lap. "Oh yeah, this is Happy, my cat."

Lucy smiled, not knowing what else to do. An awkward silence passed between the two, three counting Happy.

Finally, Natsu spoke again. "So I guess we should get you back to the ocean. That is where you live, right?"

Lucy nodded. Natsu then walked over to her, picked her up bridal-style, and carried her over to the water's edge. He gently set her down in a spot just deep enough for her to swim away in.

"Now, be careful, ok?" he said. "There's not always someone taking a walk by the side of a river when you all of a sudden float up, unconscious."

Lucy grinned, and leaned up towards Natsu. She gave him a kiss on the cheek, and dove into the deep water, blushing furiously. Natsu stared after her, shocked.

"Wow," he said to himself. "Not what I expected."

His face turned sorrowful then, and he pulled a locket out of his pocket. Opening it, there was a picture of a little human girl with blonde hair, standing next to Natsu. They were young, both around 2 years old. Both had crowns on their head.

"There's no way," Natsu said softly, staring at the photo. "No way she'll ever be replaced."

He closed the locket, and turned away from the ocean. Happy jumped onto his shoulders, and the two started back towards town.

* * *

Meanwhile, Lucy was zooming through the water, heading back towards Harugeon Bay. She got lost a few times, and had to backtrack through various rivers and ponds a couple times, but eventually made it. She spotted the shipwreck that she and Juvia called home, and quickly swam towards it.

"Juvia!" she yelled. "I'm back!"

Almost as soon as the words left her mouth, Juvia shot out of the shipwreck. "Where have you been?" she shrieked. "It's been over 16 hours! I thought you were dead!" She noticed the bandage around Lucy's head. "Geez, girl, what happened?"

Lucy giggled. "I just met the most wonderful human!"

Juvia sighed. "First of all, Levy's the most wonderful human. Second of all, please tell me you didn't kill them."

"No, of course not!" Lucy said, outraged. "He's too handsome, anyway. And, I haven't known Levy for that long."

"He?" Juvia asked, suspiciously. "Who's 'he?'"

"His name is Natsu, and he saved me from the river after I hit my head. We talked, or, well, he talked and I wrote in the sand a couple times, and then we said goodbye and I kissed him," Lucy said, breathlessly.

"Hold on, Natsu?" Juvia said, stunned. "You mean, Prince Natsu?"

Lucy frowned. "He wasn't wearing a crown."

"Neither are you," Juvia pointed out.

"Yeah, because I chucked it into an abyss when I left the castle. I have no intention of being a princess again." Lucy said.

"If you marry Prince Natsu, you will be." Juvia smirked. "Actually, wait, he's the oldest, so you'd be queen!"

"He didn't have a crown! It wasn't the prince!" Lucy shouted.

"Did he have pink hair?" Juvia asked.

"Yeah, why?" Lucy retorted.

"Well, then, that's Prince Natsu. Pink hair is rare in the human world, and it's his signature trait," Juvia said. She then smirked again. "Lucy's gonna be a queen!"

"No, I am not! We talked for maybe 15 minutes!"

"Then why did you kiss him?" Juvia said, laughing.

"I... I don't know. Instinct?" Lucy sighed. "Anyway, it was just a peck on the cheek. But, he's handsome either way, that's for sure."

Juvia leaned against the shipwreck, smirking. "I prefer the younger prince, but I guess that's just me." She laughed. "Either way, Queen Lucy has an awfully good ring to it. Queen Lucy of Magnolia!"

"Oh, shut up!" Lucy shrieked, swimming towards her. Juvia dodged her, and the two started chasing each other around the shipwreck, laughing.

It wasn't until much later that they stopped, sides hurting from laughing too hard. Both went inside the ship, exhausted. They got ready for bed, and fell asleep almost the instant their heads hit the pillows.


	8. Chapter 8

Lucy stretched out on the grass, letting the sun's rays warm her. She had been getting a tan for a while now; since she visited the shore often. She closed her eyes and listened to the peacefulness of the surface world. Birds chirping, river water gurgling, trees rustling in the wind...

"Hey, Luce," a voice broke the calmness. There was a thump, and someone sat down next to her.

Without even opening her eyes, Lucy knew who it was. She'd recognize that voice anywhere. The embodiment of a perfect human male, otherwise known as Prince Natsu. Who she may or may not have had a crush on for a hell of a long time.

"So, I've been thinking. And reading, too. About sirens, actually. Seeing if there's a way I can hear you speak without, you know, suffering an untimely and from what I've read, painful, death." Natsu began.

Lucy opened her eyes and sat up, looking at him.

He continued, "And, I didn't find much useful stuff. Mainly: 'Stay aware from these evil creatures!' or 'Mermaids are the whores of the sea!' All these warnings, you know? Nothing advice-wise."

Lucy nodded.

"So, I turned to having to read about magic. There wasn't much there, either. Some suspicious stuff about contracts, something about planets, and something else about roses and brides. Fishy stuff. But anyway, I did find something useful. Apparently, a kiss of true love can break any spell."

At this, Lucy's eyes widened.

Natsu continued, "So all we have to do is find your true love! Any idea who that could be?"

Lucy stared at him, eyes wide.

"Oh man, I forgot you can't say anything. Here, let's find a stick and..." Natsu's voice trailed off, for Lucy was pointing at him.

An awkward silence ensued between the two of them, with Lucy dying to say something but not wanting Natsu to die.

Finally, he broke the silence. "Well, I'm flattered. And you're nicer than, well, every stuck-up royal I've met. Which is every single one. I-You know what? Screw this. I like you, too." Natsu grinned.

Lucy began to blush, and smiled back.

Natsu laughed. "Well, pucker up then, because I'm coming for you!" He ran over to her, picking her up. Lucy giggled, and he twirled her around a bit before their heads slowly drifted closer together.

Their lips were almost touching when the sound of rushing water was heard. Lucy broke away to see nothing more than a tidal wave coming from the ocean, with no one other than her mother riding the wave.

"Shit," she muttered, and clapped a hand over her mouth. But it was too late, Natsu had heard her voice. As if in a trance, he began walking towards the wave. Lucy grabbed his arms and tried to pull him back in desperation, but it was to no avail.

"FOOLISH CHILD," boomed the voice of Queen Aquarius. "I SEE EVERYTHING. YOUR LITTLE LOVE STORY WILL NOT COME TRUE SO LONG AS I LIVE. YOU WILL REMAIN A SIREN FOR THE REST OF YOUR MISERABLE LIFE."

Lucy screamed, and threw up her arms in a weak attempt to guard herself, but the tidal wave engulfed her anyway. Her last thought was, "Where's Juvia when you need her?"

* * *

Lucy shot out of bed, wide awake. She was sweating, and her palms felt clammy. She looked around, and seeing the comforts of the ship around her, collapsed back onto her bed.

"That dream again?" asked Juvia, lying on her back on the other bed in the room.

"Yeah," Lucy said, breathlessly. "We almost kissed this time, though."

"I'll start ringing the wedding bells," Juvia said, dryly.

Lucy grabbed one of her pillows and threw it in Juvia's direction. She caught it, and threw it back. "It's been an awful long time that you've been having those dreams, though," Juvia reflected.

"Yeah, don't remind me." Lucy snorted. "3 hellish years without a good night's sleep."

"3 years since you saw your one true love. How will you ever survive?" Juvia said, dramatically.

"I've seen glimpses of him..." Lucy mumbled.

"That's not talking to him, dearie. You're almost 18 now, not some little 14 year old child. Go talk to him. Not literally. Don't kill him. But go see him, at least," Juvia said.

"Sure, right after you go talk to Prince Gray," Lucy laughed.

"Hey, he waved at me once!" Juvia shot back.

"What was it you just said, 'that's not talking to him, dearie?'" Lucy imitated. "At least I've talked to Natsu!"

Juvia tried to think of a comeback, but couldn't. Instead, she huffed and crossed her arms. "Well, I'm going back to bed, dearie," she said, finally. "Have fun with your best friend."

"Huh?" Lucy said, confused, before noticing how high the sun was in the sky. "Shit, I'm gonna be late!"

She bolted out of bed and got dressed at warp speed, swimming out of the ship without even saying goodbye to Juvia. It didn't matter either way, since Juvia was already asleep.

* * *

Lucy swam through the river, trying to banish her dreams of Natsu with more realistic thoughts. Thoughts of the various flowers of the surface world, the clouds in the sky, that dreamy smile...

She shook her head, attempting to clear her mind of him. Levy was bound to tell her the same thing; go talk to him. Easy for her to say. She could speak without murdering someone, and she'd had a boyfriend for over 3 years. Also, she probably didn't have nightmares about her tyrannical mother rolling into her life again and ruining everything.

Lucy had reached the lake at this point, and started swimming to the shore near Levy's house. She peeked above the surface, and saw Levy sitting on the shore, picking flower petals and throwing them on the ground. She looked extremely upset.

Frowning, Lucy swam closer, and sat in the water in front of Levy. It took a few moments, but Levy finally noticed her.

"Hey," Levy said, softly. She sniffled. "Sorry, I just got both the worst news of my life and the best news of my life."

Lucy raised an eyebrow. She signed, 'Say the worst first.'

Levy laughed, bitterly. "Alright, but that one is a long story."

Lucy shrugged. 'Sounds good to me, I'm not doing anything else.'

Levy took a deep breath. "Alright then. First, I guess, have you heard of the Kingdom of Crocus?"

Lucy frowned. 'It rings a bell, but I don't know why.'

"Well, it's Magnolia's rival country. Similar, except Crocus is a lot less safe. There's a huge criminal underworld there, and it causes a lot of problems. The royal family's tried getting rid of it, but nothing's ever worked. The underworld is basically run like its own country, with leaders and all that stuff," Levy sniffled. "Anyway, once you're in that criminal world, it's incredibly hard to get out. However, one person did."

'Gajeel,' Lucy signed, shock registering on her face.

"Yep," Levy said, miserably. "He's still wanted by the royal family, though, because they don't know he's out, and he was a top official once upon a time. When he escaped, he came here, and the royal family here is huge on second chances. They gave him a job as a lowly servant, but he worked his way through the castle's ranks until he became captain of the guard for the family. The problem is, now he has to follow them everywhere. If they go on diplomatic trips, he has to go with to protect them." Tears were starting to pool in Levy's eyes. "Guess where the royal family is going on a trip to."

Lucy put her hand over her mouth, shocked. With one hand, she signed, 'I'm so sorry.' She leaned over and hugged Levy, tightly.

"They're gonna torture and kill him, Lucy," Levy said, her voice breaking. "I've heard the king of Crocus is hell-bent on destroying the criminal underworld, and they'd kill Gajeel in a heartbeat." She began to sob loudly, and Lucy hugged her tighter. "I don't want to lose him!" she sobbed.

Lucy let go of her for a moment to sign, 'Kind of pointless now, but what was the good news?'

Without saying a word, Levy held up her hand. There was a ring on her finger. "We're married now," she sobbed. "He said he didn't want to die unmarried, and so here I am, about to be a widow."

'Seems useless to say, but congrats, I guess,' Lucy signed.

Levy attempted to wipe away the tears streaming down her cheeks, but there were too many. "Thanks," she mumbled. "If only there was a way to stop them going to Crocus."

Lucy frowned. 'Why are they going, anyway?'

"Some engagement," Levy mumbled. "Some worthless engagement that is NOT worth Gajeel's life. Stupid Princess Erza. Why'd she have to exist? If Crocus and Magnolia didn't want a marriage alliance between her and Prince Natsu, then Gajeel wouldn't basically be on death row. This is all her fault!"

'Wait, Natsu's engaged to her?' Lucy signed, frantically.

"Yeah, he's been for a long time. Originally, it was her older sister, or, well, half-sister, who was the same age as him, but she and her mother died. The king remarried a while later, and had a child with his new queen, and that was Erza. Rumors say she hates her parents, and that she's opposed to the marriage as well, but who knows?" Levy sighed. "Politics. Don't you love them?"

Lucy rolled her eyes. 'I'm no stranger to terrible politics.' She sighed. 'But, I didn't know Prince Natsu was engaged. Shit.'

"I mean, if you want to pretend you're the long-dead Princess Layla of Crocus, by all means, be my guest. They never did find her body, at least. They found her mom, Queen Anna, but never Layla. There's a ton of conspiracy theories about it. Plus, if you ignore the fact that you're a fish from the waist down and that your voice kills people, you're just like her!" Levy said, smiling weakly. Then, she gasped. "That's it!"

'What?' Lucy asked.

"Your voice!" Levy said.

'What about my voice?' Lucy signed.

"You said very specifically that anyone who hears it will suffer misfortune or something like that, right? Not necessarily death?"

'Death is implied, but yeah, it's not outright stated.'

Levy leaned close to Lucy. "Do you think you can cause a shipwreck?"

Lucy stared at her, the implications of what she was saying sinking in slowly. 'You want me to speak, sing, whatever, and sink the ship the royal family is traveling on to Crocus, running the risk of having everyone drown if they can't get to lifeboats, all to save Gajeel from going back there?' Lucy looked up at Levy to see the tears silently falling down her cheeks, and the silent plea in her eyes.

She sighed. 'Alright. But I'll plan it out with Juvia, so that no one will drown. She can catch them with water bubbles or something.'

"Thank you," Levy sniffled. She hugged Lucy tightly.

'No problem, but what happens when they want to go to Crocus again?' Lucy asked. 'I can't sink the ship every time they travel.'

Levy frowned. "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. The most important thing is what's happening now."

Lucy nodded. 'I should go start planning with Juvia.'

Levy hugged her again. "Good luck."

Lucy sighed. 'I'm gonna need it.'


	9. Chapter 9

"She wants us to WHAT?!" Juvia shrieked.

"I know, I know, just calm down," Lucy said, attempting to keep Juvia from attacking her.

"No! I will not calm down! She wants us to do something that could potentially harm my one true love, Prince Gray, all for that LOSER from Crocus? Hell no!" Juvia shouted.

"First of all, you've never even met him. Second of all, do you want to deal with an absolutely heartbroken Levy for the rest of our lives? Because I certainly don't," Lucy said.

"It doesn't matter! We don't fully know what your voice does to people! 'It causes disasters' is potentially the most vague description of a curse in the 7 seas!" Juvia continued to shout.

"While I do agree that 'It causes disasters' sounds like a generic description of every curse ever made, it's all we have. It's all Queen Aquarius ever bothered to tell me, and I'm not in the mood to go swim back to her and ask." Lucy sighed. "We have to do something at least. Make only Gajeel hear my voice, or something like that, and lure him into the water, where you can make him a water boat back to Magnolia or something like that."

Juvia crossed her arms and huffed. "Yeah, a boat made of water would work SO WELL. It would soak up water from the ocean and grow bigger and bigger until-"

"Then give me other ideas!" Lucy snapped. "You're not much help! All you've done is complain about Prince Gray potentially being in danger! How do you think I feel? I've actually met Prince Natsu and may or may not have a giant crush on him, and I might end up putting his life in some serious ass danger! But you don't see me complaining at all this, do you? No! Because I want to help one of only two people who love me and care about me!"

Juvia opened her mouth and closed it again. She had absolutely no comeback for Lucy's rant.

"Figures," Lucy muttered. "Guess I have to do everything myself." She turned to leave.

"Wait," Juvia said, softly. "What if we switched roles?"

"What the hell do you mean by switch roles?" Lucy said, not even turning around.

"I mean, I cause the disaster to the ship, and you save the people who fall off," Juvia said.

Lucy paused. "That... that's actually a way better plan. Then we don't have to deal with the question of what my voice will do."

"And Gray won't be in danger!" Juvia said, brightly.

Lucy rolled her eyes. "Sure, that's clearly the most important thing here."

Juvia ignored her. "So, how are we going to do this? Shall I create a huge tidal wave that capsizes the ship, and you go save people who don't get into lifeboats on time?"

"I-yeah, that actually sounds like a solid plan. But what happens if there's too many in the water for me to save?" Lucy asked.

"Then just the important people: Gray, Natsu, & Gajeel. In that precise order," Juvia replied.

Lucy sighed and rolled her eyes again, but figured it wasn't worth her energy to fight with her again. The two huddled together, working out the details of the plan as day changed into night.

Their finalized plan was for Juvia to cause a tidal wave, capsizing the ship. However, she would loosen the bolts on the lifeboats, so that even when the actual ship sank, the lifeboats would be preserved. Lucy would catch any stragglers who couldn't swim or were knocked out, and drag them to a lifeboat.

* * *

"You think they'll ever show up?" Juvia asked, lazily floating in the water. "It's been two days since Levy told us about Gajeel. I haven't seen a single ship since we've been here."

"Patience," Lucy said, sighing. She had been doing a lot of that lately. "They'll show up, eventually."

Juvia snorted. "And when exactly is 'eventually' going to happen?"

Just then, a shadow drifted overheard. It looked an awful lot like a large ship, fit for royalty.

"Eventually," Lucy said, smirking.

"Oh, shut up," Juvia muttered.

The two rose up from the depths where they had remained hidden to just below the surface of the water. Juvia noticed a rock, and she and Lucy surfaced behind it, safely hidden from the ship's deck. It was mostly dark anyway, so the risk of being seen was fairly low, but the two weren't taking any chances.

Figures could be seen moving about on the deck, but Lucy and Juvia were too far away to clearly see anyone. Juvia snapped her fingers, and mist began to rise off the ocean, shrouding them in further cover so that they could get closer to the ship.

They inched closer, hidden by the mist. Juvia began focusing on the sky, and a few minutes later, small clouds had begun to form. This would add to their cover. After all, it's pretty sketchy when a tidal wave appears out of nowhere without a storm to accompany it.

While Juvia was busy bending the water, Lucy kept watch for anyone on the ship who might look a little too far over the deck. No one showed up, luckily.

"It's done," Juvia whispered, about 15 minutes later. The two had stealthily moved with the ship, and a maelstrom of clouds now hung over it. It looked like prime hurricane season.

"Get to your position," Juvia whispered to Lucy. "I can handle it from here."

She nodded, and dove into the water, swam under the ship, and surfaced on the other side. Lucy splashed her tail, and on the count of three, Juvia would let loose.

One... two... three... and nothing. Lucy frowned. Had she counted wrong? She counted to three again, but still nothing. Lucy dove under the ship, zooming towards Juvia. Something HAD to have gone wrong.

She spotted Juvia's legs under the water, and ducked behind a rock to surface. The first thing Lucy heard once she broke the surface was, "Why, thank you!" from Juvia. She was clearly talking to someone. Who that someone was definitely wasn't a mystery, either. Lucy could see the crown sitting on top of dark hair even from the distance she was at. Goddamn Prince Gray.

"Juvia! What are you doing?" she shouted, and suddenly clapped a hand over her mouth. "Shit," she whispered. "Please don't do anything... no, no, no, no..." But the damage was already done. The entire ship had heard her shout.

Lucy watched Juvia turn around to look at her, shock and fear reflected in her eyes. However, the gigantic tsunami bearing down on the ship that appeared out of nowhere took up a lot more of her vision. Lucy watched, in shock, as Juvia used her water to yank the bolts out of the lifeboats, and as the tsunami hit the huge ship. Juvia dove underwater, and soon all of the humans could be seen shooting to the surface near lifeboats. Lucy remained frozen in shock, staring at what her voice had done.

"Guess we know what 'it causes disasters' means now," came Juvia's voice suddenly from behind Lucy. A hand reached out and pushed her into the water. "I couldn't save Natsu in time. You gotta save him."

"Wha-" Lucy managed, before she felt the water suck her down like a vortex.

"Go!" Juvia yelled. "You caused this; go save your prince."

The water vortex sucked Lucy down to practically the bottom of the ocean, and she scanned the surroundings the best she could in the practically non-existent light. She didn't see anything at first, but then a faint glimpse of pink caught her eye. Lucy shot towards it, and came upon Natsu a distance away.

He was unconscious, and Lucy grabbed his arms. She started dragging him to the surface, praying the whole time that he wouldn't get too much water in his lungs and die. After what felt like an eternity, the two finally broke the surface, but Natsu still didn't stir.

"Wake up!" Lucy cried, shaking him. She didn't really know what else to do.

"Might want to get him to shore. Humans don't do well in water for long periods of time," came Juvia's voice.

"I know that!" Lucy snapped.

"You don't have to get so angry about it," Juvia said, in a singsongy voice. She waved her hands, and a jet of water propelled the two towards the direction of Magnolia. "Have fun!" she yelled after them. "Give him mouth-to-mouth if he won't wake up!"

"WHAT?" Lucy shrieked, turning around to glare at her, but Juvia was already out of sight.

The two shot towards Magnolia at full speed, and it felt like mere seconds by the time they reached the shore. It was good timing too, since Natsu had begun to stir. Lucy dragged him onto the shore to the best of her ability, and just as she got him fully back on dry land, he opened his eyes.

"Lucy?" he asked, his eyes widening. "Was that your voice?"

* * *

 **AN: Changed the title of the story, obviously. It kinda fits better.**


	10. Chapter 10

"Lucy?" Natsu asked, eyes widening. "Was that your voice?"

Lucy stared at him, not knowing what to do. If she spoke, she would probably kill him. On the other hand, she just saved his life, and this was the best place to talk to him. Well, kind of talk to him.

Finally, she nodded.

"So I was right," Natsu said, grinning. "Your voice is really pretty, just like the rest of you."

A huge blush started to creep onto Lucy's face.

Natsu continued, "You know, you sort of look like someone I used to know... she was really pretty too. In fact, other than your mermaid half, you look just like her, except older. I wonder..." his voice trailed off. Suddenly, he blurted out, "Do you know who Princess Layla is, or, well, was?"

Lucy nodded.

Natsu's eyes widened. "Are you her?" he asked. "Just, like, in a different form? Did your soul come back from the dead as a mermaid?" He grabbed her hands and pulled her close. "Because-because if you're Layla, I don't have to go through with the wedding to someone I don't love."

Lucy stared at him, shocked. Her, Princess Layla? While she was a princess, there were two problems with his logic. One, Layla had been human, and two, Layla didn't have a voice that almost murdered anyone who heard it.

Lucy shook her head, and pulled her hands out of Natsu's grip.

"Damn," he said, softly. "That was foolish of me to say." He laughed bitterly. "After all, how could she be alive? I know they never found her body, but can a 2 year old swim halfway across an ocean? It's all just desperate hopes to get out of this engagement." He sighed. "Might as well just give in to the reality that I have to marry Princess Erza."

Lucy was dying to say something, anything, but she couldn't find a stick to write in the sand with. Not knowing what else to do, she leaned close to Natsu and put her arms around him, hugging him tightly.

"Wha-" Natsu mumbled, before sighing and hugging her back. "Thanks, Lucy. I know you can't talk and all, but I always feel better when you're around. Even though last time we saw each other was almost 3 years ago, something about you just puts me at ease."

Suddenly, voices could be heard coming towards the beach. It sounded a lot like the castle guards.

"Shit, they're out looking for me," Natsu said. "You should probably go. I have no idea what they'd think of a mermaid being here."

Lucy nodded, and turned to go. As she was ready to jump in, she turned and waved to Natsu. He gave her that heart-melting grin, before yelling to the guards, "Down here!"

Lucy dove into the water, watching from below as the guards helped Natsu up, and they set off for the castle. She knew they'd never be together as a couple, and it had been foolish to ever think so. After all, it was clear his heart belonged to Layla. They must have been good friends, before she died.

"So how are the lovebirds doing?" came a voice from behind her.

Lucy didn't even turn around to acknowledge her. "He's still in love with Princess Layla, Juvia. He doesn't even love his new fiancé. How would I ever have a chance?"

"I mean, if you want to act like Princess Layla, you could theoretically pull it off," Juvia said. "You've got the blonde hair and the status of a princess-"

"And also a tail and a killer voice. Literally. Get real, Juvia," Lucy said, starting to swim away. "I'm better off here in the ocean, away from the human world."

"Listen to you! You sound like you've been talking to your mom!" Juvia said.

"Well, maybe she was right. I belong here, under the sea," Lucy said.

"Just because a guy breaks your heart doesn't mean you should give up everything!" Juvia said, furiously. "What about your dream of being human?"

"It's just that, a dream. How could I be a human when my very voice threatens any human who hears it?" Lucy cried.

"Then find a way around it! You know sign language. If you found a way to be human with magic or whatever, use the magic to take your voice as well! Plenty of people get along without a voice in the human world!" Juvia yelled. "Just don't give up all your dreams because of one dumb person who breaks your heart!"

"He's not dumb, and I loved him!" Lucy cried. "I wanted to be human with him!"

"Still, go be-" Juvia began.

"I don't want your pity anymore!" Lucy yelled, suddenly turning away. "I'm going to someone who can actually listen to me!" She began to swim away, towards the direction of Levy's house.

Once Lucy was out of earshot, Juvia sighed to herself. "She's going to give you the exact same advice, girl."

* * *

 _ **AN: You can blame my non-existant updates on the awful American education system. Now that finals are almost over, I should be back to updating regularly.**_


	11. Chapter 11

"Girl, have you got it bad for him," Levy said, sighing. "I still can't believe you fell for the least eligible bachelor of Magnolia. Honestly, he's been engaged since he was two!"

'But he's so nice,' Lucy signed. 'And handsome.'

"You gotta hand it to him, he seems to still like you, even though you're a siren whose very voice could send him to his death," Levy said. "That's probably a turn off for most guys. That, and the fact that you're not human."

'If I were human, do you think I'd have a chance with him?' Lucy signed.

"Unless your name is Princess Layla of Crocus, no." Levy squinted. "You know, you could always pretend to be her, if you were desperate enough. You've got the blonde hair, and you look a little bit like her mom, Queen Anna. All you need are some legs and a non-killer voice."

'Yeah, but I don't want to pretend to be someone I'm not. Besides, where do I find that?' Lucy signed, rolling her eyes.

"A witch," Levy said. "Do you know any witches?"

Lucy just glared at her.

"Figured. Well, either we can wait for someone to fall into despair, or go search for one ourselves." Levy said.

'I never said I wanted to be human in the first place.' Lucy signed. 'I admit, I'd love to be human. It would get me away from the utter mess of the ocean world. But it's just not realistic.'

"Well, I owe you after how you saved Gajeel from certain death in Crocus, so let me go find a witch for you so she can turn you human," Levy said, crossing her arms. She got up and marched into her house, leaving Lucy alone on the beach.

Lucy sighed. It had been such a long day. First, she accidentally sank the ship because Juvia was busy talking to Prince Gray. Then, she had to drag Prince Natsu all the way back to the shores of Magnolia. Granted, Juvia helped, but he was still heavy. After that, she had swam all the way to Levy's house to tell her about their success in stopping the royal journey to Crocus. Levy had been thrilled, and the conversation had eventually turned to Lucy's ever-growing crush on Prince Natsu.

"Honestly, imagine how much fun it would be if you were human!" Levy said, returning. She was carrying a giant book. "Plus, you wouldn't have to deal with all those nightmares about your psycho ass mom." She slammed the book down on the ground. "Tada! 'Ye Olden Booke of Witchycrafte.' A truly great bedtime read."

Lucy snorted. 'Gook luck finding anything useful.'

"Oh, I will." Levy said, a gleam developing in her eyes. She opened the cover of the book, and a cloud of dust flew off the cover as it hit the ground. She put on her reading glasses, and began skimming through the book. It seemed like an eternity before she spoke again. "Listen to this, Lucy. 'In the depths of the perilous ocean, whomst else would you find but the sea witch Michelle? She dwells deep in an ocean cave, and is said to specialize in transformation magic.'" Levy looked up at Lucy's doubtful face. "What?" she asked.

'Sounds fishy. Literally.' Lucy signed.

"Yes, but it's a lead," Levy said. "Who knows, maybe she can transform you into Princess Layla, too."

'I don't want to be Prince Natsu's long-dead fiance!' Lucy signed, furiously. 'Why does everyone want me to be her? I'm fine being who I am!'

Levy froze. "I-I thought-"

'You thought what? That I'd be happy pretending to be someone I wasn't for my entire life, and tricking everyone else into believing that too? That's the worst kind of life. That's exactly what my mother and the underwater world politics are! Exactly what I wanted to avoid when I ran away!' Lucy signed, angry tears falling down her face.

"Lucy-"

'I'm leaving!' Lucy signed, turning and jumping into the water. She quickly started to swim back towards Harugeon Bay, not knowing where else to go.

Levy was left on the shore, clutching her book and staring at where Lucy had been. "Well, sorry for trying to give you a little happiness!" she shouted, angrily at the water. "You deserve a little happiness in your life!"

* * *

Lucy stormed into the shipwreck, furious. She sat down on her bed, crossed her arms, and just screamed.

"Well, welcome back to you too," Juvia said, drifting by.

"Levy wants me to be human and to pretend to be Princess Layla for the rest of my life so I can be married to Prince Natsu." Lucy said, glaring at her.

Juvia frowned. "And you're mad about this why?"

"It's what SHE would do! Manipulating other people for her own gain and lying her entire life!" Lucy cried.

"You're nothing like your mom," Juvia said. "Seriously. She's a little bitch, while you're the most amazing person I've met."

"You know three people," Lucy said, glaring at her.

"And that doesn't make you any less amazing!" Juvia said, brightly. "Look, if we take out the Princess Layla part, are you okay with being human?"

"Why? Can you turn me human?" Lucy asked suddenly, turning to her.

"Well, no, I can't. I think I know someone who could, though. It would take a bit of work finding her though, since she hasn't been seen in about 17 years." Juvia said.

Lucy leaned back on the bed. She watched as the water currents above them distorted the rays of the sun, imagining how it would feel to never see this again. To always be above the water. Most of all, not being able to talk again, since her voice would kill anyone she tried to talk to.

"Lucy?" came Juvia's soft voice.

Lucy got off the bed. Her eyes met Juvia's for a moment, and she grabbed a bag. She threw some of their food supply in it and slung it over her shoulder.

"I'm taking this to mean that we should go find someone who can turn you into a human," Juvia said.

"Yep," Lucy said, quietly. "Which way?"

"You're not gonna like this, but back towards Bosco."

"How close?"

"The outskirts."

"Any risk of Queen Psycho seeing us?"

"There's always some, but I can disguise us with my water."

"Then let's go."


End file.
